Te Anau long-term resident, Margaret Tiplady, nee Excell, has recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

Born on 7 January 1925 in Nightcaps, Margaret was the youngest of seven children of Walter and Margaret Excell.

Margaret Tiplady as a youngster in Nightcaps. Photo: Supplied

She was brought up in Nightcaps and later worked at a local grocery store.

In 1946, at 21 years of age, she married Arthur (Aff) Tiplady, a coalminer from Ohai.

The couple had two sons, Trevor and Allan.

Mrs Tiplady bought a dairy in Nightcaps, which she ran until the early1960s, when the family moved to Timaru, where Margaret’s sister lived.

In 1970 a tragedy struck, when Aff died suddenly at the age of 47.

After her husband’s death, Margaret moved to Te Anau, where several members of her family lived, including her brother, Ernie Excell, owner of the XL Motel (now Edgewater), which Mrs Tiplady managed on behalf of her brother’s until she was 60, when she retired.

Arthur and Margaret cutting the cake on their wedding day. Photo: Supplied

However, she continued to live an active and busy life.

She was an avid bridge player and a keen bowler.

Her name figures prominently on the champion boards at the Te Anau Bowling Club and she was granted a life membership of both the bowling club and the bridge club.

She was also a passionate gardener, tending a large veggie garden at the back of her flat in Milford Road.

In her later years she joined the Golden Oldies club.

Mrs Tiplady’s niece, Margaret Cockburn, remembers her aunt’s time in Te Anau.

Margaret with her bowling and Bridge trophies. Photo: Supplied

“When we shifted here in 1976, my auntie was managing the XL Motel and I started helping her. She was fun to work with. We used to laugh a lot,” she said.

“She is a very determined person, quite competitive and very independent."

"When she began to lose her eyesight, around 1994, I looked after her, but it didn’t deter her from riding her mobility scooter at a breakneck speed."

"She was still doing her own shopping and gardening."

"It was only in her later years that I started taking her shopping in my car,” Mrs Cockburn said.

Margaret never remarried.

Margaret Tiplady (centre), surrounded by all her descendants on her 100th birthday. Photo: Supplied

She lived on her own in her Te Anau flat for nearly 50 years, until four years ago, at the age of 96, she moved to Omokoroa, near Tauranga, North Island, to live with her son, Allan’s family.

Mrs Tiplady is a proud mother, grandmother and great grandmother to her two sons, six grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.

At 100 she still enjoys walking and has a very sharp mind.

Margaret's 100th birthday cake. Photo: Supplied

The highlights of her life were her successes in bowling and bridge and spending time with her friends, of whom she had many.

Her advice to younger people for a long and happy life is to “keep to yourself, have good friends, go for walks, and live a quiet life”.